DeStress Monday at School
Sun Salutation
For Teachers/For the Classroom
Try this practice on your own and then teach it to your students with the help of the instructive video below.
You can do basic yoga poses with your class to help them start out the week – and their class time – in a positive way. Here is some information you can tell your class about yoga:
Yoga is a great way to start the week. It helps to stretch and wake up your body – and also your mind! Does anyone know what yoga is? When you do yoga, you pay attention to your breath and your body. You notice how your breath and body feel right now. Whatever you notice is OK.
People have been exercising their bodies and minds with yoga for thousands of years. Yoga can help people feel less stressed out, sad, or worried. And yoga can also help make your body stronger and healthy. It can make you more flexible, make your balance better, give you a straighter posture, and stronger muscles – and it can even help your body fight germs better so that you don’t get sick as often. The best part about yoga is that most anyone can do the basic poses!
The video above demonstrates a series of yoga poses to welcome the sun and the new day.
[Arrange your class so that students are standing in a circle with everyone facing into the middle of the circle – this way students aren’t worried about being watched from behind when they bend over. Then give the instructions and do the poses with the students. You can repeat these basic poses several times if you like.]
If you prefer to lead your class in doing the sun breath without the video, here is a simple description of the poses:
- Stand tall with your hands together at your chest. Take a breath. Notice how you feel.
- Inhale, lift your arms above head, relax your shoulders, & ground your feet on the floor.
- Exhale & fold your chest over your legs, keeping knees slightly bent. Its OK if your fingertips don’t touch the floor.
- Inhale and bring your torso parallel to the floor and press out through the top of your head; exhale and fold your chest forward again over your knees.
- Inhale and sweep your arms out to the sides, bringing them back over your head.
- Exhale and bring your hands back in front of the chest and then back to the sides of the body as you return to the original position.
After you finish several repetitions of the poses, you can say: Now take another breath. Notice how you feel.
Full Curriculum
See the full DeStress Monday at School Curriculum